NATS DOMINATE ASTROS, WIN SERIES
[May 26th] -- Frank Robinson in tears. Now I've seen everything.
You can't blame the Houston Astros; it was a smart idea. The Nationals' catcher is a first baseman, and not a very good one at that. In six innings, they stole seven bases, something that hasn't happened in the National League for many years. With his team clinging to a 7-5 lead, with two Astros on base and no outs, Frank Robinson did something that I have never seen in 40+ years of watching baseball: he pulled his catcher. With Brian Schneider still out, and Wiki Gonzalez still woozy from being hit in the head two days ago, LeCroy was Robinson's only real choice to start the game. He replaced him with Robert Fick, another "former" catcher who wasn't good enough to catch in the big leagues on an every day basis.
It killed Frank.
In his post game interview, Frank was in tears, despondent that he "showed up" his player. LeCroy, however, took it in stride, saying he would have done the same thing. In the end, it stopped all of the thefts and the Nationals held on for an 8-5 victory over Houston.
Tony Armas didn't pitch particularly well, but he still hung around long enough to win his 5th game of the year. His ERA crept up a bit, to 3.44, but he did strike out six Astros in five innings. Ryan Zimmerman continues to impress. The kid got two more hits (including his 5th bunt single of the year) and made two outstanding diving catches in the field, both of which ended up being the top "Web Gem" of the night on ESPN.
So the boys have won five out of their last six games. How? Why all of a sudden are they playing solid baseball? Because statistically, they had to. The Nationals are a slightly below average team, but not a bad one. Sooner or later, they had to start getting a few breaks and win more games then they lost.
I wonder what the new owners will do about the team's future if they start a prolonged winning streak. Regardless of how fun this past week has been, they still need to trade some of their players for prospects. Winning 75 games won't warrant keeping the team together.
They still need to make those trades, no matter how hard it might be.
